Chick box



- "'eb. 17, 1942. R H WARREN v 2,273,390

CHICK BOX Filed Oct. 25, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 090 60 oqopo o 25 25 o 50 5 5O- 000000 00000 2a- Q: 26,, J

' INVENTOR ROBERT H. WARREN BY WM ATTORNEY Feb. 17, 1942. R. H. WARREN 2,273,390

CHICK BOX Filed 001:. 25, 1939 Fig.3

s Shets-Sheet 2 H l3 INVENTOR ROBERT H. WARREN BY WAA" ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 17, 1942 CHICK BOX Robert H. Warren, Mount Wolf, Pa., asslgnor to Superior Paper Products Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application October 25, 1939, Serial No. 301,105

3 Claims.

This invention relates to shipping boxes of the type employed for shipping baby chicks and is particularly concerned with an improved construction whereby crushing of baby chicks, so frequently experienced, is eifectively eliminated or at least greatly reduced.

Chick containers as popularly used, are flat, rectangular boxes partitioned off into four substantially equal compartments by means of transverse and longitudinal partitions crossed at the center.

Experience has shown that the baby chicks, a number of which are placed in each compartment, have the habit of crowding into the sharp corners of the compartment, and the chick or chicks immediately in the corners are likely to be, and frequently are, crushed to death.

Heretofore, boxes provided for shipping baby chicks, did not have sufllcient means for permitting free circulation of air through the boxes, especially when such boxes were stacked in a room or vehicle closed or nearly closed on all sides, with the result that many of the baby chicks smothered to death.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved chick box so constructed as to eliminate all sharp comers in the interior of the box.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved chick box that has means for permitting air to circulate freely therethrough.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved chick box having a plurality of compartments in which the corners of each compartment are formed with vent flues in addition to a vent flue formed centrally in the box.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved chick box having a plurality of compartments, in which the partitions forming said compartments are in the nature of polygonal shaped vertical members of continuous loop form inserted in the bottom portion of the box and so constructed that the adjacent corners of said members are angularly disposed with respect to the side and end walls of the members so as to form vertical vent lines with the walls of the box at all comers of the compartments.

The invention will be .best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description, in view of the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification; nevertheless it is to be understood that the invention is not confined to the disclosure, being susceptible of such changes and modifications which shall define no the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a chick constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is inverted plan of the top removed the member shown in Fig. 4; and

Fig. 8 is a plan of the blank of the bottom section of the box.

- Although the container is shown and'described asparticularly adapted for the shipping of live chicks, it will be realized that the features of the present invention are adaptable in connection with other suitable containers.

The box may be constructed from any suitable sheet material such as corrugated fibreboard, solid fibreboard, paper board or any other similar material which can be creased and folded, or renderedfoldable in any manner. Usual- 13* the boxes are made throughout from cormgated fibreboard, a material which is of light weight proportionally to its strength, and which also has relatively high heat-insulating qualities.

Referring to the drawings, the device comprises a rectangular box-like structure in the form of a lower or main portion II and a lid or cover portion I2, each of said portions being preferably constructed from suitable blanks of sheet material.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 8, the lower portion H has a flat, rectangular bottom 13, longitudinal side walls 14. and end walls IS, the walls It and I5 being formed with rows of perforations l5 spaced intermediate their upper and lower edges.

The ends of the walls ll have flaps or right angle portions I! which lie against the walls l5 when the blank shown in Fig. 8 is folded into the box form shown in Fig. 3.

The portions I! have perforations 18 which register with the perforations IS in the end walls IS.

The flaps I! may be secured to the end walls l5 by any suitable means, such as staples l9,

material departure from the salient features of shown in Fig. 1.

box-

The lid or cover i2 has downwardly turned side edges 2| and end edges 22, preferably formed in a manner similar to the construction or the portion ii of the device, the flaps 23 of the side edges 2| being secured to the end edges 22 by any suitable means, such as staples 24, shown in Fig. 1.

The area of the lid l2 and the construction of the edges 2| and 22 is such that the lid is adapted to be readily positioned on the main body II with the edges 2| and 22 surrounding the upper portions of the walls l4 and i5, as shown in Figs. and 6.

Perforations 25 are formed in the lid l2 and arranged in the manner shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

In order that spaces will be provided between stacks of the boxes when a large number of the boxes are arranged side by side in a series of vertical stacks, the lid or cover |2 has a width greater in dimension than the width of the portion II, the construction being such that the side edges 2| are disposed a greater distance from the walls |4 than the distance between the end edges 22 and the walls i5 (see Fig. 6).

In order to prevent buckling of the side edges 2|, fillers 26 are arranged on the inside of said edges 2|, as shown in Fig. 2. If so desired, the fillers 26 may be formed from elongated strips of the same material used in constructing the portions ii and i2 of the box, said strips being secured to the side edges 2| in any suitable manner so as to be integral therewith.

In order to divide the interior of the box into a plurality of correspondingly shaped compartments in which sharp or right angle corners are eliminated in each compartment, partition members 21 are inserted in the box Four compartments are shown in the present instance, said compartments being formed by arranging four of the insert members 21 within the body I, side by side and end to end. It will be understood, however, that the boxes may be provided with any number of compartments when so desired.

Each insert member 21 may be formed from a blank of sheet material having the general outline illustrated in Fig. 7, so as to provide a member having a straight bottom edge 28 adapted to rest on the bottom l3, and an irregular upper edge having portions 29 paralleling the edge 28 and adapted to lie in substantially the same plane as the top edges of the walls l4 and I5, and portions 30 adapted to increase the height of the members 21 for a purpose to be hereinafter referred to. The portions 29 and 30 are alternately arranged, the ends of said portions being connected by inclined edges 3|.

In the present instance each insert member 21 is shown as comprising eight walls, which walls are formed by scoring the blank of sheet material shown in Fig. 7, at seven places, as indicated at 32 to 38 inclusive. The scores extend from the lower edge 28 to the extreme upper edge 30 so that when the material is folded each insert member 21 will have opposed longitudinal side walls 39 and 40, opposed end walls 4| and 42, and obliquely disposed corner walls 43, 44, 45 and 45, the corner wall 43 being disposed between the side wall 39 and the end wall 4|, the corner wall 44 being disposed between the end wall 4| and the side wall 40, the corner wall 45 being disposed between the side wall 40 and the end wall 42, and the corner wall 46 being disposed between the end wall 42 and the side wall 39, as shown in Fig. 4.

Since the comer wall 48 is located at one end of the blank of sheet material from which the insert member 21 is formed, and since the free edge of said corner wall abuts the free edge of the sheet material at one end of the wall 39, in order to secure the ends of the material together, any suitable means may be employed, such for instance as a piece of fabric 41 applied to the material by a suitable adhesive, as shown best in Fig. 4. In this way each insert member 21 is made of continuous loop form which provides a polygonal structure having eight sides or walls. While the comer walls 43, 44, 45 and 48 are all shown of the same width, it will be understood that these walls may be constructed of any width desired.

The walls of the insert members 21 have perforations 45 and 49, the perforations 43 being arranged to register with the perforations l5 and I3 in the side walls or the box II when the members 21 are mounted in the box in the manner shown in Fig. 3, and the perforations 48 being adapted to permit the free circulation of air through the oblique corner walls 43, 44, 45 and 46 of the dece. v

With the insert members 2lmounted in the box member it will be noted that the oblique comers of the members 21 project upwardly above the upper edges of the walls ofthe member Therefore, in order to enable the lid or cover i2 to be positioned on the member II and be supported by the upper edges of the walls of said member apertures 50 are formed in the lid l2. These apertures have a configuration to accommodate the upstanding portions of the insert members 21, in the manner shown in Fig. 1.

The disposition of the insert members 21 within the box II is such that the oblique corner portions of said members form triangular compartments 5| at the corners of the, box, similarly formed compartments 52 approximately twice the area of the compartments 5| at the middle of the side and end walls of the box, and a single square or rectangular shaped compartment 53 at the center of the box. All of the compartments 5|, 52 and 53 extend vertically from the bottom l3 upwardly to a point above the top of the lid i2 when the lid is positioned on the box (see Figs. 1, 3, 5 and 6).

Air is adapted to freely circulate through the compartments 5|, 52 and 53, since said compartments are in communication with the main compartments of the box, through the interconnecting means provided by the perforations 49.

The walls of the members 21 which project upwardly above the top or lid i2, constitute means for supporting boxes superposed thereon and for maintaining the bottoms of such superposed boxes in spaced relation to the lids of the lower boxes.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a shipping box of the class described, the combination with a box formed of corrugated fibreboard and having a rectangular bottom with square corners, sides, and a rectangular removable cover, of a plurality of vertical insert members arranged within the box and dividing the interior thereof into a plurality of compartments, each of said insert members comprising a sheet of corrugated fibreboard open at the top and bottom and of continuous loop form, each insert member having an oblique wall at each corner thereof, all of said oblique comer portions extending upwardly through apertures in said cover, thereby to provide a lurality of compartments within the box, each compartment having eight side walls.

2. In a shipping box of the class described, the combination with a box formed of sheet material and having a rectangular bottom with square corners, sides, and a rectangular removable cover, of a plurality of vertical insert members arranged within the box and dividing the interior thereof into a plurality of compartments, each of said insert members comprising a sheet of material open at the top and bottom and of continuous loop form, each insert member having an oblique Wall at each corner thereof, all of 3. In a shipping box of the class described, the combination with a box having a rectangular bottom with square corners, sides, and a rectangular removable cover having a plurality of apertures therein, of a plurality of vertical insert members arranged within the box and dividing the interior thereof into a plurality of compartments, each of said insert members being of continuous loop form and open at the top and bottom, each said insert member having an oblique wall at each corner thereof, all of said oblique corner portions extending upwardly through said apertures in the cover, thereby to provide a plurality of compartments within the said oblique corner portions extending upwardly 15 box, each compartment having eight side walls.

through apertures in said cover, thereby to provide a plurality of compartments within the box, each compartment having eight side walls.

ROBERT H. WARREN. v 

